Triple firing on 'The Apprentice'

[dutchman]

Lord Sugar fired three Apprentice candidates after tonight's semi-final interviews challenge.



Sugar's closest aides and work colleagues Bordan Tkachuk, Alan Watts, Claude Littner and Margaret Mountford grilled the final five candidates before the millionaire boss decided on the two applicants who would go through to this weekend's finale.

Stuart Baggs was the first hopeful to be given the axe by Sugar. He was described as a "blagger" by Tkachuck after he discovered an exaggeration on his CV about his telecommunications business on the Isle of Man.

Before firing Baggs, Sugar vented his anger that he had let the 21-year-old come so far in the competition, admitting that he may have got it wrong when he gave Liz Locke the chop last week.

"The thing is, my four advisers looked at me and said that you're full of s**t basically, and possibly you have been throughout the whole course of this process," said Sugar.

"What annoys me more is that if I've misunderstood you with your claims and everything else you said you've done, and someone like Liz left the process last week, I feel more sick. I don't believe a word you say, Stuart. I'm annoyed with myself. I've been annoyed with myself that you have been able to come this far through the process. Stuart, you are fired!"

Speaking afterwards, Baggs said: "I'm feeling gutted that I'm fired. I thought I was the perfect candidate for the job. Even more so because of the dramatic way that I've been fired. I thought it was entirely unfair and I think everyone may have had a complete lack of understanding of what I'm about."

Sugar was far gentler in his dismissal of Joanna Riley, who he applauded for her hard work and effort during the series. However, he eventually let her go, claiming that she should continue building her own cleaning company.

"We all admire what you have done here and I'm going to give you what I think is the best bit of advice," he said. "While you don't like what you are doing at the moment, get to like it and do more of it. Because with regret, I can't see where you slot in our organisation. But you leave here with your head held high. You've done very well. Joanna. I'm sorry to say, you are fired."

The last candidate fired was Jamie Lester, who Sugar accused of having a "blame culture", while some of Sugar's aides suggested that he lacked confidence. He told the former estate agent bluntly that he had "reached the end of the road".

Former Nottingham University student Chris Bates and mother-of-two Stella English have progressed to the final, which will see them compete in a task to create a new alcohol brand.

The Apprentice final airs on Sunday on BBC One.